Morgan Stanley upgrades Australia's CSL to "overweight"

ChrisOliver

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Morgan Stanley lifted its rating on Australian-listed blood plasma product maker CSL
CSL, -0.75%
to "overweight" citing favorable supply and demand dynamics and what it says was "conservative" guidance by the company for the financial year ahead. On Wednesday CSL upgraded its profit forecasts for the financial year to the end of June 2007 to an upper range of A$460million ($362.35 million) from an earlier upper-range estimate of A$420 million, an increase of about 9% from the mid-point of earlier estimates. "Management is highly confident in the financial outlook, this may suggest a further upgrade during the course of (financial year 2007)," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Sean Laaman in an e-mailed report. Laaman noted the timing and confidence in the profit forecast may reflect the "the renewal of new higher-priced supply contracts." Morgan Stanley issued a target price of A$69.16 on the share.

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